OUR VIEW: Pot prohibition's final years?

In recent years, through ballot initiatives, Massachusetts has joined a number of states in decriminalizing the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, making it a civil offense with a $100 fine. Four years later, 63 percent of the commonwealth's voters allowed the legalization and retail distribution of medical marijuana.

In recent years, through ballot initiatives, Massachusetts has joined a number of states in decriminalizing the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, making it a civil offense with a $100 fine. Four years later, 63 percent of the commonwealth's voters allowed the legalization and retail distribution of medical marijuana.

In Rhode Island, which does not have a voter initiative process, the General Assembly has passed similar laws through legislation. Now, following the lead of two western states — Colorado, which has recently begun retail sales of recreational pot, and Washington, which will do so next year — Massachusetts voters, on the 2016 ballot, may decide on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

Meanwhile, the New Hampshire House of Representatives, by a 170-162 vote, became the nation's first legislative body to vote in favor of recreational marijuana legalization. However, it is unclear what the fate of that legislation may be in the Senate, and the Granite State's governor has vowed a veto if it makes it to her desk. A bill to legalize recreational marijuana has been introduced in Rhode Island as well.

While marijuana remains an illegal Schedule I drug by federal law, the system of federalism seems to be a good model for the incremental legalization of pot — not nearly as harmful as other "hard drugs," which remain justifiably illegal, and even some legal pharmaceuticals. Legalization proponents argue that marijuana has fewer health and public safety risks than alcohol, another substance which endured a failed experiment in prohibition. However, some law enforcement officers remain concerned that if marijuana is legalized for recreational purposes, it would be detrimental to public safety and society.

There is no consensus among law enforcement officers and prosecutors on pot legalization. While Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and District Attorney Sam Sutter oppose legalization, Fall River's police chief said he would not outright oppose legalization efforts, but would rather leave it to the community to decide.

Taunton's police chief, who expects pot to be legalized by Massachusetts voters in the next three to five years, believes that there would be "no major impact" to public safety. Meanwhile, should marijuana be legalized and taxed, it would certainly be a boon to the state budget at the expense of drug dealers, cartels and other criminal enterprises that are currently raking in the tax-free cash.

In coming elections, legalization advocates plan to petition for a series of nonbinding local referenda in various Massachusetts representative districts. With the expected 2016 timing of the proposed ballot measure, Massachusetts voters will be in a good position to evaluate how the legalization experiment has worked in states that allow it. In the five years since small amounts of pot were decriminalized, Massachusetts has not seen any of the negative effects pot prohibitionists warned of.

By the time 2016 comes around, the commonwealth will have also had the opportunity to see how the medical marijuana system has worked. When it comes to changes in law, incremental steps make sense, and Massachusetts seems to be taking the right steps at the right times in order for voters to make an informed decision.